Thursday, August 30, 2012
Jordan Rhodes
Many years ago, long before English football was invented by
Sky Sports and the Premier League, clubs did all their shopping in their own
backyard.
The great Liverpool team of the late 1970s, the one that
claimed the European Cup as their own private property, was built on players
brought up from lower division clubs. Ray Clemence and Kevin Keegan came from
Scunthorpe United; Phil Neal came from Northampton Town; Joey Jones from
Wrexham.
Clubs lower down the league had good scouting networks in
place and young players knew that if they were good enough they would get a
chance not just for their local team but to impress clubs further up the
ladder.
No foreign players were available of course and there was
seemingly enough talent to go around and then some. Looking back it seems
unbelievable that players like Kevin Hector (Bradford Park Avenue & Derby
County striker), Stan Bowles (Bury, Crewe Alexandra, Carlisle United &
Queens Park Rangers) and Laurie Cunningham (Leyton Orient, West Bromwich Albion
& Real Madrid) earned a mere 13 caps between them.
It is a dangerous game to compare across the ages but anyone
who saw that particular trimutive in their prime would look nonplussed at the
national team and see them fitting in effortlessly.
But football, well the Premier League, has moved on. Players
in the lower leagues today carry a premium by dint of their passport alone and
the big clubs, looking for value for money in the millions or tens of millions,
tend to steer clear, preferring to take a cheaper punt on players from abroad.
Proven goal scorers are as ever at a premium. Only Tottenham
Hotspur showed any interest in Emmanuel Adebayor, who for all his many faults, averages
a goal nearly every other game, and even then needed Manchetser City to
subsidise his salary.
Manchester United spent 24 million pound on a 29 year old
Dutch striker with a career littered with lengthy spells out of the game
through injury; Liverpool paid 35 million for an English striker and now they
are struggling to get him off the pay roll.
You would think given that scenario, clubs would be falling
over themselves to sign a 22 year old full international who netted 40 goals
last season.
But they’re not. Neither Manchester United, Arsenal,
Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur, all in the market for a top striker, have
been linked. Not even the second tier of Premier League clubs, the likes of
Everton, Newcastle United or Aston Villa, have been reported to show any
interest.
Jordan Rhodes is the young man in question. Formerly with
Ipswich Town, his goals have had a major say in Huddersfield Town’s success in
recent years culminating in their promotion from Division One to the Championship.
His three seasons in West Yorkshire saw him score 87 goals
in 148 games. in that time he hit five goals in oneaway game and recorded the
fastest ever hat trick of headers as well as winning the Golden Boot for three
successive seasons.
After hitting eight goals in eight Under 21 games for
Scotland, he made his full debut against Australia in a friendly last month and
scored.
An impressive pedigree but still not enough for any of the
big clubs to sit up and take notice.
Instead it has fallen to Blackburn Rovers to seize the
initiative and bid for player whose father, Andy, was a Scottish international
goalkeeper. Blackburn Rovers, who just dropped out of the Premier League last
season and now play in the same division as Huddersfield. Blackburn, a club
divided where fans are staying away in the hope that the owners and manager
will walk away.
The price is thought to be an initial 4.5 million GBP with
add ons should he reach certain targets. Surely not big money by today’s
standards.
But still too high for the big clubs who deem it too risky.
# posted by Me @ 5:55 PM 
Comments:
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Bould, Dixon, Winterburn. Need I say more?
You make a valid point although I would note that Man Utd and Chelsea don't seem quite as obsessed by the foreign imports as Arsenal are, and it probably explains why they have achieved far greater success in the Premier League in recent seasons. Both clubs have consistently had the "best of British" creating a solid backbone straight up the middle of the park with the likes of Ferdinand, Scholes, Rooney, Terry, Lampard, etc. These players establish the culture in the dressing room and help the foreign imports adapt to the English game out on the pitch. Until Arsenal are able to bring in British players with the same blend of muscle and flair they will continue to miss out on trophies.
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You make a valid point although I would note that Man Utd and Chelsea don't seem quite as obsessed by the foreign imports as Arsenal are, and it probably explains why they have achieved far greater success in the Premier League in recent seasons. Both clubs have consistently had the "best of British" creating a solid backbone straight up the middle of the park with the likes of Ferdinand, Scholes, Rooney, Terry, Lampard, etc. These players establish the culture in the dressing room and help the foreign imports adapt to the English game out on the pitch. Until Arsenal are able to bring in British players with the same blend of muscle and flair they will continue to miss out on trophies.
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